Speculation begins over Lapham's replacement at Harper's

Last week, Lewis Lapham announced his decision to step down from his 24-year-long post as editor-in-chief of Harper’s, saying to The New York Times, “I have a certain number of years left and a number of things I’ve left undone.”

Creator of popular sections in the magazine that include the ever-imitated Harper’s Index — and largely responsible for the magazine’s current mix of essays, fiction, and snippets, as well as its left-leaning stance — Lapham’s presence at the helm of one of America’s oldest magazines will be missed.

But the fun part — speculation on successors — has only really begun, and Jim Hanas of the blog Encyclopedia Hanasiana conjectures that Harper’s and Saturday Night alum and This American Life senior editor Paul Tough is likely a candidate, as well as other Harper’s alums Jack Hitt and Michael Pollan. In response to Hanas’s call for “some irresponsible conjecture, dammit,” Bookslut’s Michael Schaub throws in a pick of his own: “Notre Dame head football coach Charlie Weis. He turned the Fighting Irish from also-rans to BCS contenders. Can he do the same for one of America’s most beloved magazines?”